Strength can be broken but not its intention
Posted: Sat May 16, 2020 9:05 am
“Strength can be broken but not its intention” (劲断意不断Jìn duàn yì bùduàn) is an idiom from the Taijiquan classics. In practice, just stretch out your arm towards your opponent’s chest slowly as a palm strike and your opponent stop your advancement by push your palm back in alignment with your force, after a few seconds of stoppage and your opponent withdrew his or her hand you will continue slowly immediately in the direction of your intention. It does not work too well if you contract your arm to resist instead of just like pushing against a wall. I came across the Kohnstamm’s phenomenon or known as the floating arm trick while I was looking for the “post contraction sensory discharge”, and I think it will throw some light on this idiom:
The science of the floating arm trick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo
Press the backs of your hands against the inside of a door frame for 30 seconds—as if you’re trying to widen the frame—and then let your arms down; you’ll feel something odd. Your arms will float up from your sides, as if lifted by an external force.
The science of the floating arm trick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo
Press the backs of your hands against the inside of a door frame for 30 seconds—as if you’re trying to widen the frame—and then let your arms down; you’ll feel something odd. Your arms will float up from your sides, as if lifted by an external force.